Nikkei edges up in choppy trade on yen weakness

TOKYO Feb 22 (Reuters) - Japanese stocks rose in choppy
trade on Monday as the yen backed away from Friday's 2-1/2 year
high against the Euro and one-week high against the dollar,
burnishing market sentiment and giving relief to exporters that
have come to rely on a weaker yen for profits.

The dollar flirted with the 113-yen mark throughout the day,
giving Japan's exporters some relief from the one-week high of
112.28 hit on Friday.

The Nikkei share average rose 0.9 percent to
16,111.05.

"Today's gains were definitely yen driven but it should be
noted that we're not seeing the yen weaken as much as we might
have expected given the data we saw out of the U.S. at the end
of last week," said Gavin Parry, managing director at Parry
International Trading.

The broader Topix edged up 0.6 percent to end the
day at 1,300.00 with all but six of its 33 subindexes in
positive territory.